The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) says it has begun a nationwide Fishing Vessel Safety Audit campaign to improve safety standards, promote regulatory compliance, and reduce the number of maritime incidents.

It says 10% of the vessels have been audited thus far. Most of the fleet is aging and not ideal for saving lives.

SAMSA Acting CEO, Mbalenhle Golding says the preliminary audit results show a number of instances of non-compliance.

“Currently we are in the process of compiling a report and yes at a very high level some of the things that we have picked up in this audit is the life of the vessels they are aging they are quite old if you check their life span, they are probably thirty-five years old, so the age is a contributing factor.”

 SAMSA launches the Fishing Vessel Safety Audit